How to Avoid, Eliminate, or Manage Type II Diabetes

Written By Wes Hardy

Today, as I read the article, High Glycemic Foods Tied to Diabetes Risk, I realized that there is some discussion that may be necessary on this topic. As we move forward, there will be a greater need to clearly define how to deal with this deadly and pervasive disease. The number of people suffering from Type II Diabetes worldwide is staggering, and we have yet to have any meaningful impact on slowing the progression of this disease.

Of the 8 percent of Americans who have diabetes, more than 90 percent are Type II

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

If you are reading this, you probably know someone who has this disease, or you are dealing with it yourself. I will offer my opinions on this topic through a series of posts, which may help you to take a firm grasp on what needs to be done, and how. First, I will answer some questions that arose as I read the article…

1. Now that I have figured out what “high fiber fruit” is (exhaustive Googling) how much of it can I have? Most experts stick to 15 gram rule here when it comes to portion size. Think 1/2 of a banana. Half? Now I am going to have to buy one of those plastic banana savers…
2. What are other unrefined grains? Now, after spending years trying to find the best “products”, with the “highest fiber content”, it is my opinion that if you are a diabetic, and are interested in stopping the ravages of this disease, you will stop eating ALL cereal…bread…pasta. The food companies that market these products are a bunch of dirty, no good, low down, deceptive money grubbers (I could be wrong here…) who’s only interest is to see their bottom line grow. There are over 600,000 products on the food market, and 80 percent of them have sugar in them. What about the other 20 percent? Riiight…..
3. What vegetables can I have and should I eat them raw or cooked? With most veggies (leafy greens, broccoli and cauliflower, peppers, mushrooms, onions and squash to name a few)  you can eat an unlimited supply and you should eat them BOTH raw and cooked. Now, for some of us, cooking and eating all these different vegetables is going to be a big chore BUT…going blind and losing your feet is going to be way worse…I can teach you to cook…but there is no way to sweeten Diabetes!

“In over 90 percent of patients, type 2 diabetes can be effectively and relatively quickly reversed with excellent nutrition and exercise” Dr. Joel Fuhrman

The subject of type 2 diabetes is complex. Dealing with it is even trickier. Are you ready?

Muscle Matters

Today, as I sipped my coffee, I thought about the message we espouse at SRSW. After 10 years in business, our message can be summed up in two words, but has a far deeper impact on our lives than we are being told. People come to us for reasons that are varied, for we all have different desires, but ultimately our message remains the same to each and every person. Let’s look at the different experiences that might bring someone through our doors.

Fat Loss – In 1991, only four states in the U.S. had obesity rates of over 15-20 percent, but by 2006 only four states had rates of less than 20 percent, while 22 states had rates greater than 25 percent. Major health challenges arise in individuals whose body fat exceeds a certain percentage, yet many are unaware of these consequences and what can be done to avoid them. Is it any wonder that the majority of people walking through our doors would like to lose a few extra lbs.?  There are many different styles of training and diets that may, with varying degrees of efficiency, work for everyone but every diet causes muscle loss, exacerbating the challenges faced by someone trying to win the battle of the bulging waistline. Do not try to lose body fat without strength exercise! If you want to keep body fat off forever you must perform strength exercise.

Manage age related disease – Many of the individuals we work with came to us hoping to regain the health and vigor that they have begun to lose. Most of them were unaware of the process of muscle loss, and therefore were slow to react. Only their wake up call from the Dr., where they discussed their type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, to name a few, inspired them to make the call. Don’t be alarmed, but as you sit in your comfy chair reading this, and if you are not currently doing some type of Progressive Resistance Training, you are losing muscle and along with it a very important component related to energy production in the body; mitochondria. The mitochondrial theory of aging has been identified as a leading explanation of the aging process and describes a path leading to cellular senescence that includes electron transport chain deficiency, reactive oxygen species production, and the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA deletions and mutations. It is also quite clear that regular resistance exercise is a potent and effective countermeasure for skeletal muscle aging. The bottom line for a person who is experiencing aging is Progressive Resistance Training.

Increase Fitness and Physical Ability – Many people come to us seeking to improve their “game”. Now whatever your game is, you must know that the majority of top athletes in the world now do some form of Strength Exercise as part of their training regimen. Strength exercise has been shown to aid in endurance as well as explosive strength, while conditioning the body against the possibility of injury. If you want to get on top of whatever sport you love, or just want to improve your personal best, a little strength exercise goes a long way.

Rehabilitation from Injury or Sickness – OK, now your current reality is pain and discomfort brought on by the sum total of your activities.  You want to get better, but you just can’t get past the pain. If you are amongst the individuals who have daily pain, such as chronic low back pain, you must begin the arduous process that will become a very important part of your pain management. Progressive Resistance Training has long been an effective tool in reducing daily discomfort, and if you can discipline yourself to get through the early, most difficult stages, you will find yourself in a better place.

There are many more reasons I have not discussed here that inspire people to walk through our doors, and most of them just want to feel better. As we move through life wanting to feel better, look better, and play better, it is important to take these two words with you; Muscle Matters.

Wes

Belly Fat and Dementia

For years we have been informing our Strength community of the dangers of having excess belly fat. Excessive waist circumference is associated with health risks such as Type II Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and insulin resistance. Now, according to a study published this week in the Annals of Neurology, you can add the risk of dementia to the list. In an analysis of 733 middle-aged men and women, researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine found that not only was higher body mass index (BMI) associated with reduced total brain volume — which previous research has linked to dementia risk — but that the correlation was even more pronounced among individuals with belly fat, or high concentrations of fat around their organs.

What’s more, the researchers noted that, independent of total body weight, the association between belly fat and decreased brain volume persisted. The study adds to earlier research suggesting a link between obesity and dementia risk, including a 2008 study published in the journal Neurology that found that individuals who had higher amounts of belly fat in their 40s were more likely to exhibit signs of cognitive decline as they got older.

This latest study included 733 men and women with an average age of 60. Nearly three quarters of the study population (70%) was female. While the study authors conclude that more research is vital to understanding the relationship between obesity — and more specifically belly fat — on dementia risk, the preliminary findings indicate that having a big belly may have a broad range of negative health effects.

“Our data suggests between central obesity, particularly abdominal obesity, and risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.” Sudha Seshadri, lead author and a researcher at the Boston University School of Medicine

While much has been done to help stem the tide of obesity in our community, we have failed to accomplish the goal. As of 2010, eight out of ten Americans over the age of 25 are now overweight, and this is rising fast. Since 1990, there has been a 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults over 30. Something needs to be done, and we need to act fast if we are going to save ourselves and our children from the perils of this deadly condition.

At Santa Rosa Strength and Wellness we have the Optimal Health Choice Program to help individuals with their weight loss goals, and we have been very successful with this program. If you, or someone you care about is in need of an excellent program designed to be a solution to this growing problem, please contact us at :

Santa Rosa Strength and Wellness

707-539-2000

wes@santarosastrength.com

Multivitamin use linked to increased risk of breast cancer, study says. Really?

In our continuing search for new and interesting information concerning healthy lifestyles, we came upon this little blurb that should be of major concern to those who are taking synthetic vitamins instead of whole food vitamins. It seems as if Swedish researchers have found a link between multivitamin use and an increased risk of breast cancer in a study of more than 35,000 middle aged and older women. Scientists working on the study are concerned and believe more research is needed.

In 1997, scientists at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden asked women to complete a health questionnaire, examining closely what they called “breast cancer risk factors.” At the time, all 35,329 women were cancer-free. In the follow up ten years later, 974 of these women were diagnosed with incident breast cancer, 293 of whom were taking multivitamins. According to the study, these findings show a 19 percent increased risk in breast cancer (after taking out lifestyle factors like exercise, weight, diet, smoking and family history).

“Many women use multivitamins in the belief that these supplements will prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease,” Susanna Larsson, MD, professor of the Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, said in the report on the findings. “However, whether the use of multivitamins affects the risk of breast cancer is unclear.”

The use of multivitamins has always been a source of controversy, and there have been many studies that have given us conflicting information. It is important to remember, however, that often the multivitamins used in studies are isolated, synthetic vitamins, not whole foods. Synthetic vitamins are just another chemical that one should avoid in this chemical world that we are now all living, if one is serious about reducing their cancer risk. Yep, I said it, synthetic vitamins should be avoided. Now I know that many people will disagree with me, but then, some people still think microwave popcorn is a good idea.

A whole food vitamin is another story altogether. Despite the controversy, it is widely accepted that the compounds found in whole foods have a great deal to do with our bodies natural defenses from cancer. A whole food vitamin, like the Mega Multi 100, will help bolster your natural immunities, and can be a very powerful tool in your cancer fighting arsenal.  Which brings me to something we all love….lists. The Santa Rosa Strength and Wellness top 10 things a person can do to avoid (or fight) cancer.

1. Stop Smoking – This will reduce your chances of contracting some forms of cancer by 30%
2. Adopt a Plant Based Diet – Studies show that high consumption of fruits and vegetables wards off a variety of cancers.
3. Strength Train – Regular and vigorous physical exercise has been scientifically established as providing strong preventative medicine against cancer.
4. Lose a Few Pounds – Being overweight or obese may increase your risk of cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, stomach and uterus.
5. Get Your Vitamin D – Among other things this will help bolster your immune function.
6. Eat More Fiber – Fiber plays a key role in keeping your digestive system clean and healthy. It helps keep food moving through your digestive tract, and it also moves cancer-causing compounds out before they can create harm.
7. Reduce Trans Fats – Trans fats, also called partially hydrogenated oils, are created by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid and less likely to spoil—which is very good for food manufacturers, and very bad for you.
8. Boost Your Antioxidants – Antioxidants are powerful vitamins that protect against cancer and help the cells in your body function optimally. Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of antioxidants such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium.
9. Choose Organic Produce – Reducing the intake of pesticides and fungicides is a good way to reduce your risk of many cancers.
10. Take a Whole Food Multivitamin – That’s right. Try the Mega Multi 100. It’s USDA certified 100% Organic. No chemicals, ever.

Finally, hug someone. I don’t know if this will reduce your cancer risk, but it sure feels good.

Other studies done in the U.S. contest the Swedish institute’s findings. In a 2009 prospective study done by researchers at Harvard and the Tokyo Women’s Medical University, multivitamin use was not found to be associated with the “overall risk of breast cancer.” Instead, it found taking multivitamins regularly might reduce the risk for women consuming alcohol and decrease the risk of certain types of breast cancer for all women.Larsson pointed out to Reuters Health other reasons could have led to the increased cancer risk. The study might not have examined certain factors that led to these results, or B vitamin folic acid, which commonly gives different results in health studies, is skewing the findings. As multivitamins contain a variety of nutrients, it is hard to pinpoint which mineral or vitamin is causing these results, according to Larsson.Currently, 28 percent of Americans take a multivitamin regularly, according to the Council on Responsible Nutrition. The Journal of American Medical Association strongly recommends all Americans supplement with a multivitamin. Sales of the supplement are also rising, showing a consumer attachment to multivitamins, according to a 2008 report by Nutrition Business Journal. NBJ reported sales of multivitamins were worth $4.7 billion in 2008, with 4.3 percent growth expected over three years.UPDATE: CRN reports the findings from this study are confusing and need further review to understand what this means to consumers and retailers.

Andrew Shao, senior vice president, scientific and regulatory affairs, CRN:
“As observational studies go, this one appears to have been well done overall. It was a large, prospective cohort of more than 35,000 women who were healthy at baseline and followed for almost 10 years. The finding of an increased risk of breast cancer is puzzling, and in direct conflict with other similarly designed studies such as the well regarded Nurses Health Study out of Harvard, which showed just the opposite – that multivitamin use was associated with a significant decrease in breast cancer risk. And there are a few other studies that show ‘no effect.’ So it is difficult to say what this study means on its own. To their credit, the authors are balanced in their discussion of the findings and are careful not to draw firm conclusions from this one study. More research is definitely needed to sort out the conflicting data. In the meantime, the message to consumers is still the same: it is better to meet your nutrient needs than not, and a simple, affordable daily multivitamin helps us all to achieve that. This study does not change that.”

Federal exercise guidelines include strength training for all

As I was watching my business partner Steve put his young son through a strength building exercise the other day, I was reminded of the importance of strength building exercise for both young and old. Resistance exercise can play an important part in the development of a child, and with the challenges of obesity and Type II Diabetes being faced by Americans, we should give them every advantage that we can.

The U.S. government put out exercise guidelines in 2008 that recommended resistance exercise for all. This is a long overdue step in the right direction. Resistance exercise has many benefits for young children, and the fears of injury and stunted growth have been shown to be unfounded. There have been several studies that have shown progressive resistance exercise to be beneficial for athletic and non-athletic children alike.

Increased strength in adolescents has been shown to improve neuromuscular strength, which in turn may have an effect on coordination. Increases in strength also have a direct correlation to decreases in injuries in the athlete and non-athlete alike, while having very positive effects on the emotional well being and body image of adolescent females. Resistance exercise also has a positive effect on blood sugar control, mood, blood pressure, and has been shown to be very effective in the management of obesity related issues.

Resistance exercise is a very simple way to provide your children with greater opportunity as they head off to adulthood. The profound benefit of resistance exercise cannot be overlooked anymore. Look for a facility that specializes in safe resistance exercise programs, and enroll your children. Both you and your child will be thankful.

Benefits of Resistance Training For Children

1. Prevention of cardiovascular disease.

2. Reduction and control of high blood pressure and childhood obesity.

3. Improvement of basic motor skills.

4. Possible prevention of injuries.

5. Improved self-confidence and self-image.

6. Early development of good posture.

7. Greater ease and efficiency in performing motor tasks and sport skills.

8. Better performance on nationwide fitness tests.

9. Early development of coordination and balance.

10. The establishment of fitness as a lifetime interest.

Energy-Dense Foods May Activate Genes That Ultimately Make Us Obese

New research, published in the FASEB Journal, suggests that a diet high in fat and sugar actually switches on genes that will cause our bodies to store more fat. What? You are kidding right? But the Standard American Diet (SAD) is made up of 25% sugar. Yes 25%. The fat intake of the SAD diet is 5.8 grams of trans fat everyday on average. The sodium intake of the SAD diet is 4500 mg per day, which is extremely excessive when compared to what is recommended by every credible health organization on the planet. Over half of the meals in the SAD diet are eaten outside the home, and people eating the SAD diet consume over 3500 calories per day. Can you say obesity? Diabetes? Cardiovascular Disease? 33% of children in America are currently obese, and the average American takes 12 prescription drugs daily.Time for change!

At Santa Rosa Strength and Wellness we advocate a plant based diet, which is known to reverse disease. Our nutrition program is easy to implement, and will have you looking and feeling better in no time. Ask about our nutrition  program the next time you visit Santa Rosa Strength and Wellness.

Coke and the American Academy of Family Practitioners Form Strategic Alliance

Recently, Coke and the AAFP formed an alliance which would allow Coca-Cola Co. to “educate consumers about the role their products can play in a healthy, active lifestyle”. Huh? Coke has products that could be included in a healthy active lifestyle? Would a company sponsor such a thing that would tell it’s consumers that their products were, in fact, bad for you? Well, for the 6 figures Coke paid to the AAFP for this, I doubt if their is going to be a condemnation of their products on the AAFP information. I can see it now, “4 out 5 doctors recommend Diet Coke as part of an active, healthy lifestyle”. Next we will have Omega-3 Coke.

I believe this sends a mixed message to consumers that are already having severe health challenges associated with poor diet. Coke is not a company that represents improvements in health in any way. They are protecting their bottom line here, trying to associate themselves with a health organization, while benefiting from the buzz marketing that such a controversial alliance will bring.  Many others agree with this line of thinking and have written a letter condemning the AAFP for allowing the sponsorship.  This group of 22 prominent health and nutrition experts wrote:

“Because of the kinds of products it markets, Coca-Cola Co. is desperate to burnish its soiled reputation…which is why it is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to have a relationship with your organization…We urge the AAFP to regain its credibility by rejecting the deal with Coca-Cola.”

Executive vice president of the AAFP Douglas Henley was quoted as saying:

“Our alliance with The Coca-Cola Company gives the AAFP the opportunity to provide consumers with fact-based information on beverages and how to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle via FamilyDoctor.org…The AAFP and The Coca-Cola Company share a commitment to inform consumers, as well as medical professionals, about best practices for good health. And we will move forward with this commitment together by providing educational materials on sweeteners and how to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle while still enjoying many of the foods and beverages consumers love.”

What we need most right now is change, in order to achieve better health as a community. This is a suggestion that we can achieve better health while still enjoying the foods and beverages that we have come to love. What? How does that work? I wish someone would clue me in as to how we can have better health without eliminating these products from our diets. Doing the same things while expecting different results is insanity. It’s time to put a stop to the insanity.

Whatever their recommendations are, if you are truly seeking better health to compliment an active lifestyle, stop drinking sodas or any other drinks that are tainted with chemicals that hasten the disease process. If you are thirsty drink water.

Please, write in and tell us what you think.

Why Should I Take An Organic Whole Food Multi-vitamin?

In my last post, I talked about the Mega Multi 100, the multi-vitamin that we carry at Santa Rosa Strength, and I received many responses. In this post, I hope to encourage all of you to begin to explore the possibility of taking a multivitamin, as part of your overall commitment to excellent health. So lets start with why we feel that everyone should take a multivitamin.
Consider the following questions:

• Do you have all of the energy you need to enjoy life to the fullest?
• Do you want to protect yourself from the environmental pollution that surrounds us?
• Are you under stress from today’s fast paced environment?
• Are you concerned about protecting your future health and well being?

• Are you experiencing ill health from diabetes, heart disease, cancer, or sarcopenia (muscle loss)?

If your answer is yes to any of the following questions, then you could benefit from taking a whole food multi-vitamin supplement. If you pay attention to the news, or listen to your peers discuss health challenges, it is more apparent than ever that we are not getting the proper nutrition in order to protect us from disease, and the evidence is in the dramatic rise in diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Since disease prevention is directly linked to nutrition, it is more important than ever to begin adopting the healthy lifestyle practices that will enable us to live longer, healthier lives. Processed foods laden with fats, sugars, salts, and devoid of other essential nutrients, along with foods tainted with pesticides, fungicides, sulfites, and preservatives, have put us all at risk of acquiring these deadly diseases. While many environmental influences are beyond our control, nature has provided us with the most powerful protection from disease ever discovered; antioxidants! These potent vitamin and minerals actually attack illness at the cellular level. The function of antioxidants is quite complex, but we will delve into this subject a little bit, for the purposes of our own understanding.

A Paradox In Metabolism

Much of complex life on Earth requires oxygen for it’s existence, yet the consumption of oxygen for these processes produces reactive oxygen species (ROS). We have heard of these most commonly referred to as free radicals, which is one type of (ROS). Included are oxygen ions and peroxides, both organic and inorganic. ROS form during normal metabolic processes and play an important role in cell signaling, but during times of environmental stress (UV or heat exposure, environmental toxins, physical activity, chemical ingestion) ROS levels rise dramatically, and can cause significant damage to cellular structures. This occurrence, known as oxidative stress, is involved in many diseases such as sarcopenia, atherosclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Type II Diabetes, Heart Failure, Myocardial Infarction, and chronic fatigue. Thanks to the perfection of nature, antioxidants protect us from oxidative stress by regulating and removing ROS’s from the body.

Not Why, But How?

By now I hope you are asking yourself what the best way to get antioxidants into the body is, and are forming a plan to accomplish this. If you are still unconvinced, please refer to the original questions and consider that it is a known fact that we all will test positive for BPA exposure, a toxic chemical, in amounts that have been shown to have adverse effects in many studies performed around the world.

How to get antioxidants into the body is relatively simple, yet is a subject that causes much debate. The number one way to get antioxidants into the body is (drum roll please)….

Food – Yes my friends, the best way to get antioxidants is from the place where they were discovered in the first place. But, and this is a big one, what kind of food? A recent trip to the Natural Foods Expo in Anaheim, CA revealed thousands of processed foods all claiming to have some type of healthy ingredient added to it. Lets look at the VitaMuffin brand BlueBran Vita Top product as an example. They were handing out samples of the Vita Top product, so we decided to check it out. The company tag line is what first caught my attention: VitaMuffin… better than an apple. A cursory check of the ingredients list brings out some glaring things that lead me to believe that this is NOT better than an apple. The first is natural flavor.

According to the US Code of Federal Regulations, a natural flavor or flavoring is:

…the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.

What?…..

Secondly, and more to the point are the vitamins and minerals that are listed, touted as “better than an apple”. In a side to side comparison of these, the muffin has more of the amount of vitamins that are added to the muffin, but fewer vitamins and minerals that are actually in an apple, and the company fails to mention this. Plus, the vitamins added are likely all synthetic or isolated.

Synthetic vitamins do not perform the same functions in your body as vitamins found naturally in whole food

and…

Anyone who studies biochemistry learns that vitamins do not exist as single components that act on their own. Vitamins are made up of several different components – enzymes, co-enzymes, and co-factors– that must work together to produce their intended biologic effects.

This is called synergy, and is important concept when discussing antioxidants. We will learn more about this later, but it suffices to say that the ingredients outside of the apple have lost their synergy. So, is it better to eat the apple or the product marketed as “better than an apple”? Eat the apple…

Also eat beans and legumes, dark leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. If you can afford to eat organic, do so, for then you will also avoid all the pesticides and fungicides found in raw foods.

Eat as many raw and cooked vegetables as you can, but stop eating processed foods.

Whats the second most effective way to get antioxidants into your body?

Whole Food Multi-vitamin - Since synthetic and isolated vitamins have no synergy, your body will not benefit from taking them. Synthetic and isolated vitamins and minerals act like a drug in the body, and no one has ever studied these type of drug interactions, so there is no evidence that suggests anyone should ever take a synthetic or isolated vitamin or mineral. Now I know this is contrary to what the massive marketing campaign waged on the American public would have you believe, but it is true. Taking these chemicals might actually be causing disease, but it is most certainly not helping your body heal. But what about a whole food? We do know that proper nutrition protects the body against disease, for it is the reason nature has provided it for us. If you wish to protect yourself from chemical interaction, you must avoid chemicals. The only way to do this, and get an extra layer of protection from taking a multi-vitamin, is to take a multi-vitamin that has absolutely no chemicals in it; a whole food, organic multi-vitamin.

Lastly, and the least effective way to get antioxidants into the body?

Drinks - There are some antioxidants found in coffee, black and green teas, and red wine. Much press has been given, recently, to the health benefits that may be experienced by drinking things such as these. Although it is true that antioxidants can be found in these, the levels of antioxidants are insignificant. Take red wine for example. In red wine there is something called resveratrol. A google search turns up all kinds of press and products concerning this antioxidant, yet there never has been a study that has determined it’s true effectiveness in life extension. It’s all marketing hype! Also, the levels of resveratrol found in red wine varies greatly, depending on grape variety, it’s geographic region, exposure to fungal infection, and fermentation time. Resveratrol can be found in the skins and seeds of many berries as well, such as blueberries and cranberries. Red wine is good, but if you want to experience the benefits of resveratrol,  it’s better to eat the grape!

The path towards nutritional excellence and good health is fraught with many pitfalls. The world we live in is very complicated and we have so many things to consider when it comes to our health. But if you want to experience the amazing health benefits of antioxidants, the choice is pretty clear. Eat as many organic vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, as reasonably possible. Also, take a whole food, certified organic multivitamin as a supplement to the nutrients that you might be missing. And skip the Vitamuffin.

Mega Multi 100 Whole Food USDA 100% Certified Organic Multivitamin Is In!

For those you who don’t already know this, Santa Rosa Strength and Wellness has a new product in stock that we think you should try. Mega Multi 100 is the only whole food multivitamin available with the 100% Organic USDA  certification and is completely excipient and chemical free. Why is this important and why would we go to such great lengths to carry this product, you might ask?

Excipients are substances that are used in the manufacture of a product which are known to have adverse health effects. They are used most commonly as:

Antiadherents

Antiadherents are used to reduce the adhesion between the powder (granules) and the punch faces and thus prevent sticking to tablet punches.

Binders

Binders hold the ingredients in a tablet together.

Coatings

Tablet coatings protect tablet ingredients from deterioration by moisture in the air and make large or unpleasant-tasting tablets easier to swallow.

Disintegrants

Disintegrants expand and dissolve when wet causing the tablet to break apart in the digestive tract, releasing the active ingredients for absorption. Disintegrant types include:

• Water uptake facilitators
• Tablet rupture promoters

Fillers and diluents

Fillers fill out the size of a tablet or capsule, making it practical to produce and convenient for the consumer to use. By increasing the bulk volume, the fillers make it possible for the final product to have the proper volume for patient handling.

Flavours

Flavours can be used to mask unpleasant tasting active ingredients and improve the likelihood that the patient will complete a course of medication. Flavourings may be natural (e.g. fruit extract) or artificial.

Colours

Colours are added to improve the appearance of a formulation.

Glidants

Glidants are used to promote powder flow by reducing interparticle friction and cohesion. These are used in combination with lubricants as they have no ability to reduce die wall friction. Examples include colloidal silicon dioxide, talc, and etc.

Lubricants

Lubricants prevent ingredients from clumping together and from sticking to the tablet punches or capsule filling machine. Lubricants also ensure that tablet formation and ejection can occur with low friction between the solid and die wall.

These chemicals, which are known to cause adverse reactions in the body, have actually been approved for use under GRAS status by the FDA. This has been a source of alarm to thousands of health professionals around the world yet has failed to sway the typical American consumer. We feel that one should take all the steps possible to avoid eating chemicals, as they are very likely a major contributor to disease.

Very recently there has been some press on studies pointing to the dangers of taking vitamin supplements. Make no mistake, we at Santa Rosa Strength believe that taking synthetic vitamins is just as bad as taking any other chemical or drug. It is for this reason that we spent 2 years researching and sourcing the only multivitamin we could find that not only was chemical free, but also has reached a level of organic certification currently unmatched by any other multi. Mega Multi 100 is not the only multivitamin; just the best.

If you are currently taking a multivitamin, please try Mega Multi 100 which is available at Santa Rosa Strength. You don’t have to eat chemicals if you don’t want to. If you are experiencing ill health and feel that taking a multivitamin is right for you, you won’t find a better one anywhere.

If you are not sure if your multivitamin has any chemicals or synthetic vitamins in it, bring in your bottle and we will help decipher the confusing and often misleading labeling.

Now Offering Cardio Metabolic Conditioning

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our new stationary bicycle, manufactured by CycleOps, and are now offering for the first time at Santa Rosa Strength, sessions based on the Tabata protocol. The Tabata protocol was created by Dr. Izumi Tabata at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan.

The session consists a period of relaxation to determine resting heart rate, followed by a warm up period on the bike. Once the body is ready to go, we guide you through intervals that last 20 seconds followed by 10 second rest periods. After 8 cycles you are finished. The benefits of training this way are improved body fat loss, improved recovery heart rate, and improved cardiovascular efficiency.

Ask one of our staff to book your appointment today and take advantage of this highly effective protocol!